Charles P. Garcia is the CEO of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), whose mission is to empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation in every sector of the global economy.  Founded in 1972, ALPFA is the nation’s largest Latino professional organization with 43 professional chapters and 144 student chapters.  He also chairs the TIGER 21 South Florida Chapter, the premier peer-to-peer group for ultrahigh-net-worth individuals, which is in 17 cities, and its 320 members control over $30 billion in personal assets.

Mr. Garcia’s career spans a broad spectrum of industries, all focused on leveraging his in-depth understanding of Hispanic consumers.  In 1997, Mr. Garcia became the CEO of Sterling Financial Group, a privately held financial services firm which he grew from a small business to 60 offices in seven countries, 20,000 Hispanic clients and $2 billion in assets prior to selling it in 2005.  The company was named by Inc. magazine as the # 8 fastest growing privately held company in the country and Charles was named Entrepreneur of the Year by three national organizations.

With an expertise in retail operations, marketing, finance, strategy, and international business, he served for six years (until the company was sold in 2012) on the Board of Directors of Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (Fortune 500), one of the largest supermarkets in the southeast with nearly 500 stores and 400 in-store pharmacies.  He served on the Audit Committee, as a financial expert under SEC rules, and on the Nominating and Corporate Governance committee.  He also chaired an Advisory Board for Aetna Inc. (Fortune 100), reporting directly to its CEO, focused on growing the Hispanic market share of this diversified healthcare company.  Mr. Garcia was also a Hispanic market strategy advisor for Amway, a $13 billion private company in the direct selling industry.

Mr. Garcia has worked for four Presidents, both Democrat and Republican, and served on high profile federal and state government boards.  He was the Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy, appointed by both President Bush and President Obama, to oversee all operations at the Air Force Academy.  The fifteen member board is composed of four U.S. Senators, four U.S. Congressmen, and seven Presidential appointments.  The Secretary of the Air Force awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Medal for leading “a historic transformation to ensure it operates more like a corporate board of directors.”  Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed him to the State Board of Education, which oversees all public education in Florida.

Mr. Garcia has a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was the first student in his class to publish on the Columbia Law Review.  He has an M.P.A. from the University of Oklahoma; and a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he was awarded the Class of 1983 Honor and Ethics Trophy given to the graduate who “most personified the ideals of personal integrity.”  In 1988, he was awarded a White House Fellowship by President Reagan.  He served in various high level positions in the federal government, receiving the Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez Public Service and Integrity award.

The book Hispanics in the USA: Making History chose Mr. Garcia as one of fourteen Latino role models for the nation, and both Hispanic Business and Latino Leaders magazines recognized him as one of the “100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.”  He has authored two best-selling leadership books:  A Message from Garcia (John Wiley, 2003) and Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows (McGraw Hill, 2009).   He writes regularly for CNN, Fox News and the Huffington Post.

Aprendizajes

Lo que aprendio Charlie en la academia militar que le ayudo a crear una vida de liderazgo y exitoComo Charlie se creo oportunidades que lo llevaron a encontrar a su mentor